Family
by andriaallen
Summary: Will and Ashley are together and Helen shows a side of herself most have never seen.
1. Chapter 1

Will walked down the hallways of the residential corridor, listening to his music and fully intending on spending the rest of the day hanging out with Ashley and Helen. Things had been awkward after Helen had walked in on him and Ashley last night. Will had never spent a down day with the pair together and he was looking forward to it. He found the girls in the library and smiled when he realized that they were both asleep on the couch in their pajamas, Ashley was using her mother as a pillow and Helen hugging her. He smiled and watched them for a bit before venturing into the room. He was sitting down in the chair across from the couch when Helen cracked an eye open and turned her head to look at him.

"Morning Will." She whispered though she doubted that her talking would wake the girl in her arms. Will nodded, waiting for Helen to fire him for sleeping with her daughter. Helen smiled at his nervousness. "Will, I'm sorry about last night, I was shocked when I saw her with you. I shouldn't be though, it was bound to happen. I just want you to take care of her. If you fail to do so, my manservant will be the least of your worries." Helen fixed him with a pointed look until he nodded that he understood.

"Don't hurt Ashley, or I will suffer the wrath of Magnus, got it." He relaxed when she smiled and nodded in affirmation. "So, are you going to let her sleep all day like that?" He pointed to the form that was currently snoring with her head resting on Helen's chest. Helen looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Only until I have to go to the bathroom or she drools through my bedclothes, we have shared this couch many times like this, ever since she was a baby. If she was confused or upset we would spend the night or the day here, the same happened when I had the same feelings." Helen winced as Ashley shifted and rubbed her face across her chest like an infant waking from a nap. Helen tried to shift but found she was thoroughly pinned by her daughter. Helen looked down at the sleeping form and smiled. "Just like when she was a baby, only now it hurts when she presses her face in." Will nodded and suddenly was trying to picture Ashley as a baby, rubbing the sleep from her eyes against her mother's chest.

"I bet she was a beautiful baby." He prompted. He wanted her to keep talking about her past. He wanted to learn everything about Helen and Ashley he could. Helen smiled and pointed a shelf that had her personal journals and albums on it.

"Grab the first Album on the right, it's the photo album from when I was pregnant with her and when she was a baby, you can skip over the birthing photos, they are the pages outlined in pink, James insisted on documenting the pregnancy and the birth." Helen mused as Will retrieved the album. Helen was quiet as he flipped through them. He smiled at the pictures of Helen when she was showing off her baby bump. He was surprised to see a picture of Helen with a very young child on her hip his little hand resting on her very pregnant belly. Will pointed the picture out to Helen and she smiled.

"That would be Henry about a year after I found him. At that point he called me mum. He was so excited when I went into labor about six hours after that picture was taken. Ironic really, because he had told my belly that morning that it should let the baby out so he could play with it." Helen looked down at Ashley as she rubbed her head into her breasts again. "Ashley, darling if you stay asleep on my chest I'm afraid we might miss the concert, and I really have to use the loo, come on up." The reply to Helen's efforts was a groan and more head pressed into her chest, causing her to wince again. "Ashley, I will dump you on the floor if you don't stop crushing my breasts every time you move, you are not that small anymore. NUBBINS ARE LOOSE!" Helen yelled finally making Ashley jump up. Helen seized the moment and bolted to the bathroom shutting and locking the door, leaving Ashley off balance from being pushed off of her rather comfortable pillow and landing unceremoniously on the floor. The next thing that the two sitting in the room heard was a sigh of relief coming from the bathroom.

"Wow, she really had to go."Ashley said smiling at Will. Will was still staring at the bathroom door when it opened and Helen emerged looking relieved. "Mom, you didn't have to toss me on the floor, I would have moved." The blonde looked at her mother with a pointed look that reminded Will of her mother.

"Ashley, I did warn you after I asked, and then you shifted and pressed hard enough into my chest that I'm sure you left bruises, and by the way, I may be comfortable, but your knee in my bladder is most definitely not, Next time listen to the warning." Helen stated crossing her arms over her chest and wincing slightly. Ashley looked at her mother with an apologetic look. Will suddenly felt like he was intruding on an intimate mommy/ daughter moment when Ashley stood and walked over to her mother and kissed her cheek.

"Objection to being called comfortable noted, sorry about your boobs Mom, but they really are comfortable though." Ashley smiled and Helen rolled her eyes before looking at Will and pointed at Ashley.

"Will, Ashley will repeat herself, she said the same thing the last time she bruised them and before that when she was ten. I swear I should have fed her formula maybe then she wouldn't be so obsessed with my chest." Helen smiled at Wills shocked look. He couldn't believe that she would stand for this kind of discussion, particularly about her chest; William could not deny that he was a guy and had definitely noticed that Helen was well endowed.

"You are letting her talk about your chest in front of me at 8:30 in the morning, and you aren't biting her head off?" Will asked. He looked between mother and daughter and then noticed the look they were sharing. Helen laughed and nodded.

"Will, you are dating my daughter and having sex with her, if you can't handle this bit of the family relationship then you are in for the ride of your life because I will know how to embarrass you with Ashley. I'm usually very private, and I may be 158 but I am far from a prude." Helen bit back a laugh as she watched Will's cheeks redden further. Ashley was now standing behind Helen as both of them doubled over, unable to contain their laughter any more.

_'So this is what Mommy/ Daughter time is like…'_ Will thought as he watched the two women. Helen caught her breath and stood back up. "Well Ashley, we should get dressed if we are going to make it to the Within Temptation concert, I know that Sharon wants to see us before she goes on stage." Helen said, heading out of the door to her rooms.

_Okay we all remember that Sanctuary is not mine *pouts in denial* I know this is insane for some, my excuse 103.2 fever…. Should I continue? R&R pls._


	2. Chapter 2

An hour later the trio was dressed and in Helen's car on their way into Vancouver. Will was going to make the most of the time he had with Ashley, but she had taken the front seat and buckled up while Helen was going to drive. "So Will, I hope you will enjoy today, and if Ashley and I get carried away just tell us." Helen smiled looking back as she backed out of the space in the oversized garage. Pulling around as Ashley pulled out a thumb drive and plugged it in to the USB drive on the stereo system and pressed play. Will nodded and began thinking.

"So Magnus, how does a Victorian era woman like you listen to gothic rock? Do you play any instruments?" Will launched the two questions fairly quickly. Magnus smiled and looked in the mirror.

"You would use today to find out more about me." She laughed. "I enjoy this kind of music, and the attire associated with it. It's close to what I wore in the 1880's only it shows a little more." She said and then she looked at Ashley, who nodded in what looked like encouragement. "I do play instruments. I play the cello, piano, harp, violin, guitar, and various percussion instruments. I never liked horns but I did try the flute." She said looking over at Ashley. Will smiled.

"So you play half the instruments needed for an orchestra, everything but the horns. Is there anything else creative that you can do? I kind of want to know what you do with your free time, like where you and Ashley disappear too on Thursday afternoons if you aren't on a mission." He said. The two women looked at each other and smiled.

"It's our mummy /daughter night out. We have dance class and gymnastics training." Helen said. Will stared between the two.

"What kind of dance do you guys do?" he asked, trying to imagine Magnus and Ashley running a gymnastics course. He just couldn't see it.

"Hip- hop, Jazz, Tap, and Contemporary, we already have Ballroom and Ballet certificates; we have the performance in three weeks, if you wanna see it." Ashley said looking at her mother. Will's eyes bugged out. He didn't see that one coming; he had figured that most forms of dance in the modern world besides ballroom dancing would have been below Magnus' standards, like coffee.

"Will dancing is something that allows us to move freely. I like the freedom, it allows me to unwind and spend time with Ashley. I had her learn ballroom first and then we both liked it so much we have been going to the same school for sixteen years now. The type of dance doesn't matter." Helen smiled. She slowed down as they came to a traffic light at the edge of the city. Today was going to be a very interesting day.

After the concert Will learned that not only were Helen and Ashley friends with the band, but Sharon, the lead singer, was an empath in Magnus' care. He smiled as Helen and Sharon hugged, and then was startled when she enveloped him in a hug as well. The meeting was small and private with chaste goodbyes and promise from Sharon to visit after the tour was over. On the way back to the car the trio walked hand in hand. Ashley was in the middle holding a hand from Helen and Will. "Mom, you know it is only lunch time, and we are here, should we go out to lunch and then do some shopping?" Ashley asked leaning her head on her mother's shoulder and looking at her with big eyes. Helen rolled her eyes and looked at Will.

"Do you want to get some lunch and go to the mall?" she asked. Will true to guy form, shrugged.

"It is whatever you two want to do, I'll just tag along behind you." He smiled at the light that showed in the two women's eyes. He inwardly sighed.

They ate lunch at the mall and then the girls dragged will off too various shops in the mall. Helen and Ashley were looking at clothes and shoes in every shop before they came to Bath and Body Works. Helen grabbed Ashley and Will's hands and dragged them into the shop. "I need more bubble bath and lotion." She smiled as she began browsing the shelves. After fifteen minutes of looking she settled on the lavender set and a cherry blossom set before they exited the store.

Sometime later, they went into Hot Topic and Helen immediately went to the body jewelry and looked at the belly rings. Will noticed this and was shocked when she pulled her top up to show a pierced belly button with a simple ring in it. Will coughed and she looked up and smiled. I've had it pierced for nearly sixty years now Will. Which one do you think I should get?" she asked. Will was still looking as Ashley came over.

"Mom, you got a new one the last time we were here, what happened to us getting the matching ones?" Ashley said looking at Will and smiling. "Mom, did you seriously ask him which one you should get?" she said snickering. Will turned around and smiled. Helen looked between the two and put her hands on her hips.

"What are you planning?" Helen eyed the two with suspicion in her eyes. Will simply took their hands and pulled them over to him and pointed to a belly ring. The women looked back at Will each with a raised eyebrow.

"Seriously?" They said in unison and Will grabbed two of the same one and smiled heading to the checkout counter. The trio emerged from the store Will smiling triumphantly.

"You two are going to go to the bathroom and change your belly rings. And go off by yourselves for awhile; I have some shopping of my own too do." He said looking at the girls as they silently took the bag from Will and watched him walk away.

"Did he just.." Ashley asked looking shocked.

"Yes, yes he did Ashley, what so you say we go put in the skull and crossbones rings?" Helen said grabbing Ashley's hand and leading her into the bathroom. A few minutes later they emerged for the bathroom, their matching rings in place. They walked around for some time looking in various shops and came out of several stores with bags.

When Will found them two hours later, the two women were both laden with bags and Will had a few as well. They decided it was time to go home and piled their bags in the trunk and set off for home.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry everyone for this being late. I will try to update more often… Here is chapter three. _

Helen pulled into the garage of her massive house and Ashley exited the car first after grabbing the keys out of her mother's hands and unlocked the trunk. "She's excited about something, Magnus, what is she excited about?" Will looked at Helen as she got out of the car. Magnus smiled.

"You will find out later, trust me, she will tell you later." Helen said, recalling Ashley dragging her mother into Victoria's Secret and a few other shops. 'Yep, Ash went straight for the Victoria's Secret bags poor Will… ' Helen thought to herself as she grabbed some of the bags and headed into the house and up to her room.

Helen entered her room and dumped her bags on her bed. She then walked over to the mirror and lifted up her shirt to look at her belly button ring. Will really had made a good choice and she had to admit that it would go really well with her bikini. She smiled to herself and made her way into the en suite.

An hour later everyone was sitting at dinner when Will excused himself and left the room. "Mom, what is Will doing?" Ashley asked looking puzzled as she watched her boyfriend walk out of the room. Helen looked at her daughter and shrugged her shoulders. She didn't have a clue. A few minutes later, Will came in looking no different than he did before. "What's up Will?" Ashley asked as he walked back into the room and took his place beside her again.

"I went to the bathroom." He replied, looking up to the chandelier above the dining room table. Helen raised an eyebrow and took a sip of her wine, making it clear to Will that she knew he was lying. Will looked at Helen and swallowed, begging her not to call him out. She smiled and winked at him. She knew what he was up to now, and gave him a nod of approval before setting her glass down again and returning to her meal, smiling. Nodding in thanks, Will got up and went to kneel beside Ashley's chair. Ashley turned to look at Will with a raised eyebrow as she set her fork and knife down, and wiped her mouth off.

"Will, you didn't go to the bathroom, what are you hiding?" Ashley asked, apprehensively. Will reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a small box, handing it to her. Her eyes fell upon the box and widened as she opened the top up and pulled out the ring. Helen had known this day would come and she watched as her only daughter just nodded at the question that hadn't been spoken but was obvious, as she put the ring on her left hand.

_I know this is short but school keeps getting in my way, I promise I haven't abandoned the poor fics, I'm just going to be a little slow for a while. –Andria _


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey everyone! I know just wait till the end of this week and I'll have time to do longer chapters. School gets in the way! Here's chapter four. Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the U.S!**_

It had been a week since Will had proposed. Ashley was happy and floating around the large house. Helen had decided to let them pick a room to share _after_ they were married. Helen had spent the week dealing with the United Nations representatives and they only succeeded in pissing her off. Today was again the Family day and Ashley had decided to take her mom to the spa.

Helen and Ashley were currently the happiest women in Old City. They were being pampered and were generally enjoying spending time together. They sat in a steam room just listening to the sounds of the world around them. "Mom, I have no idea how to plan a wedding, I don't even know what I want." Ashley said, looking over at her mother who was currently sprawled across a bench wrapped in her towel, head resting on her forearms. Helen looked up and smiled at her daughter.

"Ashley, most women don't know what they want for their wedding. I thought I did, and then it actually came to planning it. I remember feeling quite overwhelmed for the first month or two of the engagement." Helen informed Ashley. She thought back to when she was planning her wedding. She figured things were about the same. "The question you may want to start off with is 'What kind of wedding do I want?' that may help you start, we can look at color schemes, decide where you want it if you haven't thought of that yet, and last but very importantly, pick out your dress, and the people involved in the ceremony. Keep in mind this has to be discussed with Will, except for the dress, only me and your maid of Honor and bridesmaids should know about that, until the wedding day. You also need to pick a date." Helen said, sitting up and looking at her child. During the course of the small speech that her mother had started, Ashley started to think that perhaps she should hire her mother as a wedding planner, she barely had the whole 'I'm engaged' part down.

"Mom, would you mind helping me plan, and you know take care of everything?" Ashley asked. Helen smiled; she figured her daughter would need help from someone. She nodded and scooted down the bench towards Ashley. Helen wrapped her arms around her only child and placed a kiss on her temple.

"I will help you plan your wedding darling; I'd be more than happy too. How do you feel about meeting up with Will for lunch and beginning the planning, starting with your wedding date so we have a time frame hmm?" Ashley smiled at her mother and kissed her cheek, nodding.

They sat for a few more minutes before getting ready to leave. Ashley called Will and asked if he wanted lunch before the girls had practice that evening, giving them all enough time to spend the afternoon beginning the planning for what Will had dubbed 'Ashley's Dream'.

At the restaurant the trio sat at a booth with their drinks whilst looking at the menus. "Mom, we need a budget for the wedding. I don't want to spend too mu-" Ashley was stopped mid-sentence by her mother's hand.

"Ashley, you will get whatever you want for the wedding, even if you wanted Nirvana as the band I would do my best to make it happen, though we have no hope for Guns N Roses." Helen smiled, having already decided that her daughter would have everything perfect for her wedding, even if Helen had to jump the moon for it. Will nodded in agreement casually putting an arm around Ashley's shoulders and squeezing gently.

Ashley left for the bathroom whilst waiting for the food leaving Will at the table with Helen. Will was suddenly nervous, being alone with his future Mother-in-Law. Helen looked at Will noticing how he was shifting uncomfortably in his seat without Ashley for protection. She smiled gently at her future son-in-law. "Will is there a reason you are so uncomfortable being alone with me now?" she took a sip of her Sierra Mist and looked at her protégé.

"You are going to be my mother-in-law, I haven't had a mother figure since I was eight, and you are you, so yeah, I'm a little uncomfortable. I don't know what to call you really; you are my mentor, and the mother of my future wife." William looked at Helen assessing her body language. She was sitting comfortably in her booth, which was situated where she could assess the entire room. Helen smiled at Will and leaned forward resting her hands on the table separating them.

"You can call me what you want Will, if you want to call me 'Mum' that is fine, you can call me what you called me when you were eight, or what you call me now, or 'Helen' is fine as well. I won't force you to call me something you aren't comfortable with. I quite like the idea of having you for a son, you are good for Ashley, and I won't deny that. You make her happy and I certainly want her to be happy, to have a family, and children that I could spoil. I want her to have a chance at a somewhat normal life. Did she tell you that she dropped college to come home after I had been put in a coma?" Will shook his head. He had known that she had dropped college, but he hadn't known it was for Helen. "I tried my best to give her a normal life, and every time I asked her what she wanted to do, she wanted to work with me, she excelled in her studies as a child. I sent her and Henry both to a private school here in the city until they entered high school. They begged me every year to be homeschooled; I gave in when they decided they both wanted to work for me." Helen said. Will looked at Helen and thought about what she had said over the last few minutes.

"Mom, that's gonna take a bit to get used to." Will smiled as Ashley came back to sit down.

"So Mom, Will, I was thinking a spring wedding, outside in the gardens?" Ashley looked between her fiancée and her mother. Helen pulled out a planner from her purse and started writing notes at the same time Will nodded his assent to the spring wedding. And so the planning began just as their food arrived.

_**A/N okay so this is a little bit of a bonding chapter, and I kicked of the wedding planning. Let me know what you think. you know you want to press the button down there… Happy Holidays everyone!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long to get back to this *ducks* but, I should be able to work on it more often now! Please R&R, I love them!**

Three months of planning by Helen and Ashley had Will tearing his hair out. He had never pegged his future Mother-in-law as an out of control squealing mother of the bride. That being said, Ashley was just as excited as her mother, and had even forgone her daily visits to the firing range to plan with her mother. The two Magnus women could be found in the library, the kitchen, North tower, or in one of their bedrooms on the bed planning. Helen and Ashley knew this and so today was a girl's day out to give the guys a break.

Helen and Ashley had gone to a meeting so that they could do a final fitting for her dress. Last week they had finalized the guest list, the menu, and the reception. Ashley and Will had agreed on getting married in the Sanctuary Chapel and having the reception in the main ballroom, so that their closest friends could come without Helen having to spin a cover story for the wedding.

Ashley was slipping into her dress while Helen sat outside the dressing room reading over her notes on the dress again, when Ashley called for her. Helen looked up and set her notes back in her purse. "Yes Ashley?"

"Can you help me with this?" Ashley's voice rang through the door. Helen heard the lock click, signaling that she could enter and she did, locking the door behind her. Helen inhaled deeply and looked at the gown hanging on the wall; her daughter was currently fighting with a corset that had been hers at one point.

Helen chuckled before grabbing the laces and tightening them. Ashley gasped as she felt the corset tighten around her. "Mom, does it really have to be this tight?" she said as Helen tied the laces in the middle.

"Sweetheart, this corset is a rather temperamental one that even I fight with. They are tight for a reason. However, I am surprised that it fits you as well as it does." Helen informed her daughter as she grabbed the gown and helped her into it. Helen started doing up all of the buttons of the strapless dress and Ashley just looked in the mirror. She didn't look like Ashley Magnus, the kickass girl anymore. She looked like Ashley Magnus, the woman who was getting married in four days.

"Mom, when you were going to marry my dad, were you nervous at all, even if you didn't get to go down the aisle?" Ashley asked looking at her figure in the mirror. Helen smiled and wrapped her arms around her daughter's middle.

"I was very nervous, I wanted to rip my hair out. When I started planning I didn't know that I was pregnant with you. When I found out about you fathers issues, I went to James and Nikola and they helped me preserve you. I didn't want you to live in a world where you would be looked down upon for not having a father. I only wanted to keep you safe." Helen said. Ashley hugged her mother's arms and rested her head on her shoulder.

"I know mom." She said before noticing that Helen had tears in her eyes through the mirror. "Mom, are you okay?" she said pulling away and turning around. Helen nodded and wiped her eyes.

"I just can't believe you've grown up so fast, I still think of you as that colicky baby that had me up at all hours of the night. I remember 26 hours of labor and the time you broke you leg, and now you are getting married." She said hugging her child close. Ashley hugged her back and smiled.

"We will still live in the house Mom, it's not like we're moving out." Ashley said smiling.

"I worry about you though, and it's partly the not moving out that I wander about." Helen chuckled before turning her daughter around and beginning to undo the buttons on the back of the dress. Ashley smirked.

"It's not like we'll be the next room over Mom. Besides, don't you want grandchildren?" Ashley asked smiling. Helen's head snapped up with wide eyes.

"Someday, Ashley, just not right now." She said smiling nervously. She had thought of grand kids. Ashley laughed and slipped out of the dress, patting her mother's arm.

"I know, but not many kids can say that their grandma is nearly two hundred." Ashley pointed out. Helen shook her head, she really shouldn't be apprehensive about grandchildren.

"Darling, I still look to young to have grandchildren, much less have a child your age. I think it would be awkward, I could give you a sibling that is fifty years younger than you." Helen mused. Ashley laughed harder at that.

"You will always look too young, why not do it anyway, I wouldn't mind a brother or a sister, I could teach them to ignore Uncle Nikola, and shoot guns." Helen paled at her daughter's line of thought.

"I couldn't Ashley, when would I find the time?" she said seriously. "I would love to have another child but when and with whom is another set of questions entirely."

"Mom, you could do artificial insemination, and we would all be there for you, there doesn't have to be a guy. If you want a baby then go for it, we're all here for you." Her child turned around, waiting for the laces on the corset to be loosened. Helen thought about it while she loosened the laces and helped her daughter out of the white Victorian style corset.

"You are getting married in four days, I'll think about it okay, but you won't know until after the wedding." Ashley nodded at her mother, hoping that she would say yes. She would know in about a week, and that was good enough for her.

**Okay everyone, there's the chapter! Up next, the Wedding!**


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